The US vice president confirms investigation against Trumpʼs ex-national security adviser

The US Vice President J.D. Vance has confirmed that the Donald Trump administration has launched an investigation into former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who is now critical of him. According to Vance, it is currently "in the very early stages".

The vice president confirmed the investigation in a comment to NBC News.

The day before, the New York Post, citing sources, wrote that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents searched Boltonʼs home on August 22.

Vance denied that the investigation was retaliation for Boltonʼs criticism of Trump, saying the investigation was proceeding in a measured manner and guided by the national interest and the law.

He added that the investigation into the activities of the former presidential adviser is ongoing, and the case will only be opened if it is proven that Bolton violated the law.

"Weʼre going to be careful about this. Weʼre going to be deliberate because we donʼt think people should be thrown behind bars just like that, even if they disagree with us politically, maybe especially if they disagree with us politically. The law should determine those decisions, and thatʼs what weʼre doing".

Vance declined to comment on the details of the investigation, but confirmed that part of the case involves classified documents.

“As I said, if there is no crime here, we will not prosecute. Of course, if there is a crime, Mr. Bolton will have his day in court. That is how it should be. But again, our focus is — did he break the law? Did he commit a crime against the American people? If so, he deserves to be prosecuted,” he added.

• Bolton served as Trumpʼs national security adviser for nearly a year and a half during his first term. In 2019, Trump claimed to have fired Bolton, and Bolton said he had offered to resign after disagreements. Bolton has since been a vocal critic of Trump, arguing in a 2020 book that during Trumpʼs first term, he often made foreign policy decisions based on whether they would boost his chances of reelection.
• Bolton has continued to criticize Trump since his return to office. For example, after Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, Bolton said that Putin “obviously won” the summit and that while Trump “didn’t lose,” he looked “very tired”.
• The New York Post, citing sources, wrote that the investigation was launched in 2020 and then closed by the Biden administration “for political reasons”. In the same year, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit and launched a criminal investigation against Bolton over allegations that his book, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir”, critical of Trump’s policies, contained classified information.

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